Description:

Ancestral States of Human Microbiomes

It is now well accepted that human microbiomes are actively involved in human health and that changes in our gut microbiomes from living a more sanitized, industrialized, lifestyle have led to susceptibility to certain metabolic and autoimmune disorders. My research has made significant contributions in determining what exactly has changed during industrialization by characterizing more traditional, and ancestral, states of the human ecology through studies that include microbiome information from both ancient and rural/non-industrial peoples. This talk will focus on the process of discovery of ancestral states of human microbiomes